Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 1996, Publication: 83rd ILC session (1996)

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) - Mexico (Ratification: 1984)

A Government representative of Mexico stated that Mexico had a broad tradition in matters of occupational safety and health. Article 123 of the Constitution of 1917 provided for certain measures to be taken concerning occupational safety and health with participation from workers on a tripartite basis. In this area, the authorities responsible for applying the relevant provisions were those at the federal level. Thus a National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health had been set up, which was an auxiliary of the State Advisory Committees, the functions of which were to propose concrete programmes and policies for accident prevention and for different safety measures to be taken.

The speaker pointed out that towards the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, two important measures were adopted: on the one hand, the obligation of employers to provide training and skills to workers not only to improve their capabilities but also to contribute to accident prevention; on the other hand, joint committees were set up at every work centre. Furthermore, a series of instructions were drawn up with a view to implementing a general occupational safety and health regulation to put together all the experience that had been gained in this particular area. It was in this context that the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) had presented its representation, basing its observations on widely distributed press reports relating to cases of anencephalia in the border zone in the north of the country. The Government had provided a detailed reply on three aspects: first the occupational safety and health measures adopted; the public health measures taken; and the case-by-case study of the causes of the contamination and the cases of anencephalia. Within the framework of the modernization and the structural reform that had taken place in the country a new safety and health regulation counting 180 provisions was envisaged to replace six different regulations - certain provisions of which were contradictory - which pertained to dangerous and unhealthy work for women and children; the prevention of accidents at the workplace; the supervision of generators functioning with pressure; hygiene at work; safety in mines and the general occupational safety and health regulation. The new instrument assembled a whole lot of standards that would be liable to be more operative in practice for the prevention of accidents and risks. Moreover, no less than 116 official standards had been adopted which employers were obliged to respect for the protection of the health of workers and to prevent accidents at the workplace.

The report of the Committee of Experts invited the Government to take into consideration Paragraph 3(d), (h), (k) and (m) of Recommendation No. 164. There were certain standards concerning occupational safety and health, particularly with regard to noise prevention, ventilation, the risks inherent in static electricity, and vibrations. With regard to the measures envisaged in paragraph 10(a) and (c), there were two official standards respecting safety in buildings and at other workplaces. As for the measures envisaged in paragraph 12(2)(a) and (c), joint committees which dealt with occupational safety and health had been created and an official standard on information on risks at the workplace (toxic chemicals) had been adopted.

With regard to the cases of anencephalia, it was important to refer to the information of the National Epidemiological Monitoring System of the Health Secretariat of May 1996 pointing to an epidemiological study which contained the following elements: the number of cases of anencephalia for 10,000 live births had been 19.4 cases from 1985 to 1992, and went down to 7.4 cases in 1995. The risk factor associated with this illness was interesting. It had been observed that it was women having a low level of folic acid who tended most to have children having such a defect. The provision of folic acid to pregnant women, as a dietary supplement, diminished this risk. The Government had thus adopted measures to ensure the provision of this substance to pregnant women and would also ensure any follow-up which was required by this issue.

Finally, with regard to accident prevention, the Labour Secretariat had put into place a self-management programme of occupational safety and health which had been implemented in 800 enterprises (out of which 320, or 40 per cent, were in the free border zone in the north of the country) and was now being implemented satisfactorily this year.

The Employers' members considered that the extremely comprehensive report of the Government representative showed that his Government had been trying intensively to solve the problems in connection with what had been reported to the Experts. They noted that the observations made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) related to different cases of illnesses and deaths of both workers and inhabitants in the free border zone of Matamoros which could be attributed to the exposure these people had to, or the incorrect handling of, toxic products. It was to be noted, however, from the Experts' report that the Government had in fact developed various regional programmes within the framework of its national policy for occupational safety and health and the working environment in the subcontracting sector. Results from annual regional inspection programmes had shown the existence of many cases of violation of safety standards in a group of subcontracting firms, which had been sanctioned through administrative procedures. Moreover, the Experts had recommended that the Government take into consideration certain provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164), in order to help it apply its policy on occupational safety and health.

The second part of the Experts' report referred to birth defects of children born to mothers who had handled toxic substances or had been exposed to toxic chemical products during pregnancy. Employers' members were of the view, however, that scientific evidence had not yet demonstrated a direct link between these defects and toxic substances. They concluded by pointing out that the Government representative had not denied the fact that the situation of occupational safety and health could be improved. However, he had stated that his Government was conscious of the importance of this issue and was ready to take further measures in order to improve the situation of occupational safety and health in the country. The Committee should encourage the Government to this end.

The Workers' members welcomed the additional information provided by the Government representative and the fact that the Government was going to present a detailed report to the Committee of Experts soon. They hoped that the Experts would continue paying attention to technical Conventions such as Convention No. 155. They were encouraged to note that national and international trade union organizations were paying more detailed attention to these types of Convention. With regard to the situation in Mexico, as well as other situations of this kind, the Workers' members stressed that workers' organizations based their representations not on press reports but on the testimony of persons who had witnessed actual situations.

In the present case, the CLAT had drawn attention to the mass contamination of workers by toxic products, on the one hand, and to the detection of serious illnesses and defects of children born to women exposed to such products during pregnancy, on the other hand. These two phenomena illustrated very well the wide non-observance of standards on occupational health and safety. The Government representative certainly did not deny that there was a problem of contamination by dangerous substances since it had evoked measures taken with a view to a more vigilant control and more particularly, the establishment of new regional inspection programmes. The Workers' members nevertheless considered that the action taken thus far was not sufficient due to the fact that the violations were still numerous and that there was no follow-up (fines or other sanctions), nor were the actual results obtained clear. As regards the problems of birth defects, the Government representative had mentioned the setting-up of a certain epidemiological monitoring system in the regions concerned, but it seemed to minimize the problem and above all, deny a link between toxic substances and the defects.

Consequently, the Workers' members supported the recommendations of the Committee of Experts requesting the Government to develop a coherent national policy on occupational safety and health and the working environment in accordance with Article 4 of Convention No. 155, by taking into consideration Paragraph 3(d), (h), (k) and (m) of Recommendation No. 164 as to the relevant methods, and presenting a detailed report on progress made.

The Workers' member of Spain stated that in this case one had to determine whether these accidents at the workplace had taken place because of the non-observance of Convention No. 155 or due to some other reason. From the report of the Committee of Experts, it appeared that it was a question of non-observance of the Convention. In certain cases, the Government had stated that safety standards were not being respected in enterprises. Finally, he agreed with what had been stated by the Workers' spokesperson.

The Workers' member of the United States pointed out that the Experts had described the hazards posed to the safety and health of Mexican workers in the Maquila sector caused by the emissions of poisonous and toxic gases, the incorrect handling of toxic products and other causes. The situation was widespread in the free border area which was dominated by Maquila manufacturing facilities owned or subcontracted by large multinational companies producing for the US market. Clearly, the rapid growth of this type of labour-intensive manufacturing had overwhelmed the capacity of the Government to effectively enforce its laws in the areas of environmental protection and occupational safety and health in accordance with the Convention. He had some sympathy for the Government because of the challenge it faced in coping with the growth of export companies seeking to exploit low-wage labour and the lax regulation of environmental standards. However, since this was a very serious situation that affected directly the lives of hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers and their families, what was needed was a greatly expanded system of inspection to prevent accidents and to reduce to an absolute minimum the sources of pollution and safety hazards. In his view, there needed to be a comprehensive national policy by the Government to enforce occupational safety and health standards. Multinational companies and their subcontracting firms should make a substantial contribution to that effort and share responsibility for improving the deplorable conditions of these workers. This situation illustrated the growing problem that multinational companies, driven by global competition, tended to undermine labour, environmental and safety standards unless governments acted forcefully to ensure that such standards were upheld.

The Workers' member of the United Kingdom referred to the Government representative's comments about the epidemiological studies undertaken by his Government to assess the relationship between birth defects and the work undertaken by mothers of the children affected. She wondered whether there had been any similar studies undertaken to look into the possible relationship between those birth defects and the occupations of the fathers of the children affected with those defects. In view of the fact that the Government would report in detail in 1997, she urged the Government to consider carrying out such studies if it had not already done so and to report thereon to the Committee of Experts.

The Government representative acknowledged that the CLAT had not based itself only on press reports but also on studies and inquiries that had been carried out on this subject. He stated that, because of the nature of the cases raised, immediate action was taken, even before the acknowledgement of the complaint by the CLAT.

The Committee took note of the detailed information supplied by the Government representative and of the discussion that ensued. The Committee noted that serious difficulties subsisted in the practical application of the provisions of the Convention, in particular in certain regions of the country and in certain enterprises. It noted that the Government had recently taken measures designed to ensure the application of the Convention in law and in practice. There was, inter alia, a draft regulation and the organization of national and regional inspection programmes with a view to supervising, in a more rigorous manner, the use of toxic agents in enterprises in certain regions. The Committee hoped that these measures would make it possible to prevent industrial accidents and to establish a genuine national policy on occupational safety and health. The Committee also hoped that the Government would continue to deploy all necessary efforts in order to give full practical effect to the Convention's provisions and to improve occupational safety and health. It invited the Government, with the Committee of Experts, to draw inspiration from the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164) which complemented the Convention. The Committee requested the Government to supply in its forthcoming report complete and detailed information in order to guarantee a full evaluation of the situation and to be able to note substantive progress in the near future.